This is a strict warning for all those who
venture into a movieplex to watch DEEWANE HUYE
PAAGAL: There's a strong possibility that you'd
fall off your chair laughing. To state that
DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL is a rib-tickling comedy,
would be an understatement. To even state that
DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL is a laughathon, would be
putting it mildly.

So, how does one describe DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL?
Let's just say that the comic caper promises
laughter and entertainment unlimited.
Expectations run high as you wait for DEEWANE
HUYE PAAGAL to unleash, but let's assure you one
thing: What you'd achieve is umeed se dugna!

Put your hands together, roll out the red carpet
and blow the conch shells for one of the best
comic capers to hit the screens in recent times.
The film charters the same path as producer
Firoz A. Nadiadwala and director Vikram Bhatt's
AWARA PAAGAL DEEWANA, but the difference lies in
the fact that DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL is a step
ahead in terms of content, light sequences,
performances and canvas.

If the year has witnessed the revival of the
comic genre thanks to the success of KYAA KOOL
HAI HUM, MAINE PYAAR KYUN KIYA, NO ENTRY and
GARAM MASALA, it only cements further with
DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL. Leave your thinking caps
behind and we are sure, DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL is
sure to make you deewana with its
non-stop paagalpan entertainment.

DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL begins as a sweet romance
between a boy-next-door, Karan [Shahid Kapoor],
and the cynosure of the entire college, Tanya [Rimi
Sen]. But the romance is short-lived since she
happens to witness a murder [Om Puri, in a dual
role] one fateful night. She's completely
oblivious to the fact that the codeword to the
secret formula is now with her in the form of a
toy-parrot. The slain scientist's twin brother [Om
Puri], a don, and his evil son want the codeword
at any cost.

Tanya migrates to Dubai and even changes her
name. She is Natasha now. Completely smitten by
Tanya, Karan decides to trace her whereabouts
and enlists the aid of a handsome investigator,
Rocky [Akshay Kumar]. But Rocky ends up falling
in love with her at first sight.

Meanwhile, Tanya's physically disabled friend,
Sanju [Suniel Shetty], also has a soft corner
for her and tries thwarting Rocky's attempts at
getting close to Tanya. But the list of Tanya's
suitors doesn't end here: There's another
physically disabled person, Tommy [Paresh Rawal],
who wants to marry Tanya.

The plot thickens as Rocky, Sanju and Tommy try
to impress Tanya, by running down the other. The
story takes a turn when the industrialist Tanya
was engaged to [Aftab Shivdasani, in a cameo]
surfaces in the end. Whom does Tanya choose? And
what happens to the don and the secret formula?

It isn't the first time that someone has
attempted to remake the immensely likable and
successful THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY [1998;
Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller. Rajiv
Rai tried to interpret the story his way as
PYAAR ISHQ AUR MOHABBAT, but didn't succeed. But
Vikram Bhatt borrows the basic plot from the
Hollywood flick and gives it a new color and
feel altogether.

In fact, the two halves of DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL
are a study in contrast and that's one of the
prime reasons why it works. The first hour
abounds in howlarious moments, with a dash of
action and glamour giving the film that extra
sheen.

In fact, the film starts off as a
boy-next-door-meets-glam-babe story, but with
the introduction of Akshay Kumar in the
narrative, the film reaches at an all-time high.
The film succeeds in not just making you laugh,
but howl as Akshay, Paresh Rawal, Johny Lever
and Vijay Raaz bring the house down in Dubai. In
fact, at the end of the first hour, what you
carry out of the auditorium are moments that'd
be difficult to erase for a long, long time.

Vikram Bhatt changes gears in the next hour.
From a comic caper, it changes tracks to a love
story… sorry, multiple love stories. And though
the pace drops at times and the comic quotient
isn't as strong as the first hour, the outcome
is thoroughly enjoyable as well. The dance
competition between Akshay and Shahid, as the
two vie for the attention of the same woman, is
among the highpoints of the enterprise.

The portions involving the dog in the film,
first involving Akshay and then Shahid, is bound
to bring the house down. There's a lot of
cinematic liberty there, but come on, DEEWANE
HUYE PAAGAL never claimed to be any sort of
path-breaking cinema.

The climax is where the real action is,
literally! The stunts in the sand dunes of Dubai
leave you awe-struck as the men battle it out
with the thugs. Even the finale, when the girl
chooses her Mr. Right, is very interesting.

DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL is, without doubt, one of
Vikram Bhatt's finest efforts. The director
wasn't in form in some of his previous attempts
[ELAAN, JURM], but he bounces back with renewed
vigor and hits a boundary. Laughter is the most
difficult emotion to capture on celluloid and
Vikram does that with élan.

Anu Malik's music is of the popular variety,
very much in sync with the mood of the film. 'Meri
Jaane Jigar' and Akshay's introductory number 'Chakh
Le' are two numbers that get a major boost
thanks to the expert picturization as well. The
dance competition track ['Aisi Umar Mein'] is
another number to look forward to. But why did
the makers chop off 'Maar Sutya' after the
initial mukhda?

DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL belongs to Akshay Kumar. The
actor goes on a rampage yet again and delivers a
performance that's not at par but better than
that in MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI and GARAM MASALA.
It wouldn't be wrong to state that the actor's
performance is one of the mainstays of the film
and will contribute enormously to the repeat
viewing.

Shahid Kapoor underplays his part beautifully.
While Akshay has a mass appealing role, Shahid
is the sober type, the typical lover boy… and he
is a complete natural. Not once does he make an
effort to go overboard, living the on-screen
character with precision. Also, he is simply
electrifying in the dance number.

Rimi Sen is competent, but she needs to do
something seriously about her styling.
Otherwise, she does her part well. Suniel Shetty
is a revelation. The actor displays his comic
side like a complete pro. Actually, he should
continue doing roles that go beyond his action
image.

Paresh Rawal is a scene stealer yet again. His
sequence with Suniel Shetty at the music video
shoot is amongst the most memorable sequences of
the enterprise. Johny Lever is superb,
especially in the sequence when Akshay cooks up
an alibi about Rimi, when Johny and Shahid set
foot in Dubai.

Om Puri is excellent as the don. Vijay Raaz is
truly funny as Akshay's sidekick. Suresh Menon
is fantastic as the South Indian son of the don.
Asrani and Rakesh Bedi don't get ample scope.

Aftab Shivdasani is hardly there for one scene.
Viveik Anand Oberoi, as the sutradhar, is
the only blot in an otherwise fantastic film. He
tries to do an Amitabh Bachchan, but falls flat
on his face.

On the whole, DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL is a
thoroughly enjoyable entertainer that works big
time not just as a comic caper, but also for the
gloss, music and stunts. At the box-office, it's
a sure-shot hit!